First round of Roy Jones completed

Published: Tuesday, June 24, 2014 at 11:56 PM.

Wes Simmons led his fellow area golfers after the first round of Tuesday’s Roy Jones Junior Golf Classic with an even-par 71, but the 29th annual tournament, as always, drew young competitors from beyond the area.

And they were competitive.

Goldsboro’s Nick Adams posted a 66 to take the lead in the first round, carding three birdies and an eagle on the front nine as a cushion on the host site Kinston Country Club’s course. Patrick Stephenson’s 69 followed for the top two scores of the boys’ 16-18 age group. Blake Taylor and Logan Zimarino both shot a 1-under 70, while two others made even-par.

Durham’s Michael Wicker, of the 14 and 15-year-old boys, also posted a 2-under 69, leading his division after one day.

Simmons, who golfs for Arendell Parrott Academy, bogeyed on five holes before shooting an eagle on the 18th at the five-multiplier event.

“There’s a lot of good competitors out here,” said the 16-year-old Simmons. “I played pretty well. I hit the fairway, and I hit the green.”

Wes Simmons led his fellow area golfers after the first round of Tuesday’s Roy Jones Junior Golf Classic with an even-par 71, but the 29th annual tournament, as always, drew young competitors from beyond the area.

And they were competitive.

Goldsboro’s Nick Adams posted a 66 to take the lead in the first round, carding three birdies and an eagle on the front nine as a cushion on the host site Kinston Country Club’s course. Patrick Stephenson’s 69 followed for the top two scores of the boys’ 16-18 age group. Blake Taylor and Logan Zimarino both shot a 1-under 70, while two others made even-par.

Durham’s Michael Wicker, of the 14 and 15-year-old boys, also posted a 2-under 69, leading his division after one day.

Simmons, who golfs for Arendell Parrott Academy, bogeyed on five holes before shooting an eagle on the 18th at the five-multiplier event.

“There’s a lot of good competitors out here,” said the 16-year-old Simmons. “I played pretty well. I hit the fairway, and I hit the green.”

“I would say the first round has gone pretty much as expected, a wonderful golf course on a wonderful day,” said the club’s PGA professional Carl Beaman. “We’ve got some really good scores that are coming in, very competitive as usual.”

Beaman added he was impressed with the sportsmanship among the players.

There were only five girls competing, as LeAnn Domitrovits led with a 1-under 70 after the first round, salvaging her score after a triple bogey on the third hole. She shot four birdies — three on the back nine — to save her day.

Along with a good energy from herpartner Lindsey Burton, Domitrovitsattributed her score to good putting.

“My driver was not very dependable today,” she said through a light laugh. “I really had to depend on my accuracy with my irons and knowing when to be aggressive and when to be conservative. A majority of the time today, I was conservative.”

The Croatan High School product didn’t play in Monday’s practice round and saw the course for the first time on Tuesday morning. The girls played 5,328 yards, which was a “comfortable distance” for her.

“Now that I’ve seen the course, I know what club to hit,” Domitrovitssaid. “I have a plan … and when I have a plan, I can definitely see myself shooting an even better score.”